Melaka police receive 48 job scam reports this year

MELAKA: Melaka police have received 48 reports on fraudulent online job offers, with losses involving RM700,000 from Jan 1 to Aug 16 this year.

State Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) chief Supt E Sundra Rajan said the syndicates would offer employment from online sales companies, which are advertised through Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp.

He said the syndicates use popular companies names such as Lazada and Shopee to obscure their fraudulent online activities.

"The modus operandi of these syndicates was to offer the victims to become sales agents, raise business rating and help promote the online traders.

"The victims are promised a commission of between five to eight per cent, depending on the tasks performed," he said in a statement here today.

He added the syndicates also offer jobs as purchasing agents whose role are to purchase goods and the victims would be given a commission of eight per cent of the price of the paid goods.

He said most victims began to realise being deceived by non-existence job offers syndicates when they did not receive the promised capital money and commission.

Sundra Rajan said the latest case reported involved a business executive who suffered a loss of RM8,000 after she was offered eight per cent commission as a purchasing agent on Facebook.

He said the 23-year-old woman who lives in Keroh here, had made five transactions as purchase capital to the bank account provided by the syndicate since Aug 10.

"Through the job offer, the victim's role was to raise the rating of the small traders by purchasing goods from their companies to receive the commission," he said.

The victim lodged a police report at Ayer Keroh police station on Aug 13, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

He also urged the public to be vigilant with job offers advertised on media social or websites and to check the background of the companies at https://semakmule.rmp.my/ before making any transactions.

-- BERNAMA